


We're just Sitting Here, Painting Roses (To Be Reposted!)

by tiniest_hedgehog



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Asthmatic Harry, Baker Harry, Drama Student Louis, Fluff and Smut, Football Player Louis, For the love of everything good please give me validation, Friends to Lovers, I'm gonna add to these as i go, I've redone these tags so many times jfc, Like in high school not through the fic, Louis has a few, Louis is a freakin reading tutor, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Panic Attacks, Slow Burn, Teacher Louis, Young Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, brief mentions of family members, im human garbage that needs it to write, like how cute is that, rn its all fluff, this is probs gonna be a never ending wip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2018-07-18 23:42:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7335769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiniest_hedgehog/pseuds/tiniest_hedgehog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis had always known Harry as the little timid boy from first grade he taught to read. He knew everything from how he liked his sandwiches to what he should do if Harry had an asthma attack. They'd shared clothes, music, illnesses, even a bed. </p><p>By all definitions, Harry Styles is his best friend.</p><p>By all definitions, Louis is completely and totally in love with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This is my first official fic I'm publishing and it's kind of my child so please be gentle when leaving critiques! I love constructive criticism as much as the next guy but sometimes it just gets downright mean!
> 
> Here's some base info about this fic! :)
> 
> -It is based off of a text post you can find here: http://pale-silver-comb.tumblr.com/post/141339331837/i-just-have-such-a-profound-need-for-best-friend
> 
> -The title and a bit of the fic were inspired by Painting Roses by Dresses (It's v cute and you should listen to it)
> 
> -This is kind of a lifetime fic? So it starts out with them being small beans and ends with them being big beans, so pls be patient with me while I get through the small bean chapters because I genuinely stink at writing dialogue between kids
> 
> -Like I said, this is my first published fic and I'm partially putting it up here so I'm obligated to finish it. So PLEASE give me feedback!!! I love hearing from people that read my fics
> 
> -I plan on the chapters to get longer as the story progresses and I get more comfortable writing
> 
> -As of right now the fic is Not Rated. I might change it depending on what happens with the ending that I lowkey still haven't hashed out yet (oops?)
> 
> -I plan on writing at least once a week but I'm also in school and I suck so I might be late/delayed a few times. I will get chapters up as soon as I can though!
> 
> *****DISCLAIMER******
> 
> I own literally nothing mentioned in this fic. I wrote it, but I don't know the boys or own rights to 1D. I also don't own any works, songs, or anything else I may mention throughout the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> As some of you know, I'm in the process of editing this fic. It was the first story I'd ever truly taken off with, and the first and only project I have up on AO3. I went through a really difficult patch of depression in October, and when I came back from it this past month, I decided it was time to go back and 'unstick' my writer's block.
> 
> I realized as I was reading through what I had already written that I could do so much better with this fic. It was not at all my best writing, and I got right down to business and started editing/rewriting every single chapter I'd already written. I will put in my author's notes which ones have been edited and which ones have not, and for those wonderful people who have stuck through this hot mess from the beginning, you might find some additional chapters, sections, and tied ends that had not been there before. So, hopefully you still like it!
> 
> As I've said before, I 100000000% require feedback on my fics. The reason I'm not completely restarting this fic and reposting it is because there's already so many wonderful comments about my writing and some constructive criticisms that I look at whenever I write new chapters and I absolutely couldn't destroy them just to restart the fic.
> 
> Please, please, PLEASE leave a review or kudos! They mean the whole world to me!
> 
> Happy Reading!

The first time Louis met Harry Styles, he was nine years old.

Getting into trouble was second nature for the hyperactive third grader. His teacher looked at him with pain streaked across her face anytime she spotted his hand. If she called on him for an answer, he would rarely have one. Preferring fart noises over maths, students like Louis shouldn't have been able to be near a Helping Hands tutor, much less become one.

Although, most students didn't have Jay Tomlinson as a mother either.

"Placing Louis in charge of a younger student for one hour each day isn't favorable, Ms. Tomlinson. He can't sit still long enough for Ms. Wilkins to start the day, much less help another student!" The principal whined.

Jay received a call from the office almost immediately after the first bell rang for the morning. Louis thought it a good idea to run through the hallways instead of staying in class. Jay struggled to pin the blame for her son's actions. During their first parent-teacher meeting, Ms. Wilkins had managed to put Jay to sleep. She could only imagine what it was like for a nine year old.

"Gerald, that's exactly the point! Would you rather have him apply what he knows outside of class, or wreak havoc on that poor woman all day? He's a smart boy when he applies himself, and his reading level well surpasses that of a third grade student. If you let him show you that, this wouldn't be an issue." Jay had a frustrated twinge to her voice as she spoke. Louis trudged home everyday, upset and on the verge of tears as he would hand her another detention slip to sign. It was crippling, knowing he was so intelligent but unable to apply himself in a classroom.

"She has a point, sir. If Louis wasn't in class for a period, I would be able to serve the other students much better. He's clever enough to gain my attention every day, and he gets fantastic marks when he isn't into trouble." Ms. Wilkins added.

"Look, unless there is proof that he can engage a younger student with the material, there's nothing I can do."

That night, Jay recorded a very melancholy nine year old reading a chapter from _Percy Jackson._ His younger sister, Lottie, had been up hours after her bed time crying of an upset stomach. Louis grabbed his favorite book and resumed the story where he had left off the last time his baby sister cried. He danced around the room, reciting each line by heart until his younger sister quieted to sleep.

Upon seeing the video, the principal signed Louis up as a reading tutor the next day.

***

The more Louis tutored, the less trouble he was during school hours. It had only taken his first assignment, Julian, two weeks of tutoring to get through the school books. And the more assignments he had, the faster word got out that Louis William Tomlinson was the _cool_ tutor.

Each student he saw was different, and soon Louis had an arsenal of  books stowed in the corner next to his desk. Everything from picture books to non-fiction resided in Louis' stash, each one memorized. Louis would break out into a character's voice and the student would burst into laughter. If a student was having a particularly hard time, the hallways became Louis' stage. He would act out each scene as the student read, miming the corresponding actions to each word as they read.  Seeing the Little Kids learn to read was a blast for Louis. They grew stronger in confidence each time he saw them, and he made a point to have fun with each assignment. Even if the kids struggled through, Louis made sure they were giggling and playing along by the end of the hour.

***

Harry Styles got assigned to him halfway through his first year of Helping Hands. Louis showed up to the first grade classroom, small chapter book in hand, at exactly ten o'clock. As the teacher called out for Harry, Louis hadn't expected such a small, timid little boy to  stand. Small, ringlet curls bobbed back and forth as he shuffled forward, head down.

Louis was immediately curious.

Most students Louis tutored were, well… bigger. He saw more of his students keeping up with the third and fourth graders on the football pitch at recess than not. The boys that liked to pick on smaller boys like Harry had seen Louis for a session or two more times than he could count. So why was this boy an outlier?

“So Harry... what’s got you seein’ me?”

“Uh...I um…I don’t like it? B-but Mr. Clark says I gotta do it and they told my mommy you help kids like me...” The words tumbled out of Harry so fast and so that Louis almost didn’t catch them. Harry hadn’t lifted his wide-eyed gaze from the book nestled in Louis’ lap since they sat down.

“Ever read a chapter book?” Harry shook his head so hard Louis was sure he’d come up dizzy. Harry finally looked up at Louis, tears in his wide eyes and face puffy, ready to start sobbing at any moment. Harry had the greenest eyes Louis had ever seen, and it dawned on him how much he did not want to see this boy cry.

“Please don’t cry, Hazza… It’s like those bedtime stories your mommy tells you before you sleep! But, the story person was nice enough to write it down so lotsa mommies and daddies could read it to their kids before they sleep!” Louis flung an arm over Harry’s small shoulders and squeezed the boy to his side, sighing in relief. There weren't tears in those green, green eyes anymore, so Louis considered it a victory.

“How about we make a deal. We start reading, and if you still don’t like it by lunchtime you can go home and tell your mommy how terrible I am and that I smell funny. You can make up anything you want about me to convince her you don't need me. But, if you like it, I’ll come back tomorrow. Deal?” Harry's lips quirked into a small smile and he nodded, sticking to Louis’ side like glue as they began to read.

It wasn't a very complicated story. Louis had grabbed a new book from Lottie's room before school that morning; not bothering to look at the title before heading out the door. What kind of author names a book series _The Magic Treehouse_ anyway? This particular one, the characters went back in time to when dinosaurs lived and had to find a way to get back. As Louis read, he could see Harry's mouth moving in sync with his own, sounding each word out. When he got to his first character dialogue in the book, he had an idea.

"Why don't I read this character and you read that one?" He pointed to the respective character names as he spoke.

He hadn't expected Harry to nod in agreement and look down at the page. Louis kept his finger next to each word, helping cue the smaller boy to speak when they got to his character's speaking points. He recreated the voice for Jack as they read, just as he did for Lottie. Louis even cried out as they got to the point in the story when Jack and Annie are being chased by a dinosaur. A teacher had even come into the hallway to scold him about the noise, but he couldn't gather a care in the world.

Harry was in a fit of giggles that soon graduated to full on laughter. It made Louis heart soar to see such a genuine smile on the boy; he never wanted it to leave Harry's face.

***

By the end of the year, Jay knew more about Louis’ new friend Harry From the First Grade than she cared to know. Harry's nose was always stuffed into a book, and Louis had moved on to a different assignment. They had become fast friends in the two months Louis had tutored the younger boy, and were almost joined at the hip. Anne - Harry's mom - had finally cracked one night and asked the Tomlinson clan for dinner.

Wednesday dinners with the Styles family became an unbroken tradition for the next nine years. Louis would be lying if he said he wasn't okay with that.


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update number two! It's looking like I can pump out three chapters in one session, so I'll be updating every couple of days now that I have some extra time!
> 
> Don't forget to leave comments and kudos!
> 
> Happy Reading!

The first time Harry had an asthma attack, he was twelve years old.

It was quite stupid. Louis wanted to impress the high school football coach when school started back up. Harry had wanted to hangout with his best friend, and volunteered to help.  It was almost unheard of to have a freshman on the varsity football team. But in all the time Harry had known Louis Tomlinson, he had never shied away from a challenge.

Standing in the summer heat on a Friday afternoon wasn’t exactly what Harry would qualify as fun. Exhaustion and hunger had taken residence in his body hours ago. Not to mention the amount of sweat he could feel pouring out of his skin. So, it was only human of him to distract a certain high school freshman so keen on kicking balls at him.

So Harry kicked one back. _Hard_.

He hadn’t expected a soccer ball to make a thumping noise when it ricocheted off of Louis’ thick skull. More of a cracking noise, or slapping? Something that seemed more ‘ball bouncing off of a head’ and less ‘ball bouncing off of grass’. Harry couldn’t help the fit of giggles that erupted from his chest, only getting louder when confusion splattered across Louis' face.

The entire moment had only confirmed how right Harry had been. Underneath all that honey colored hair, Louis was so hard headed that his skull thumps rather than cracks at the impact of a ball hitting it. Maniacal laughter spilled out of him as a wave of jokes washed through his mind.

“Right then, what’s so funny over there Harold? Got somethin’ to say, do you?” Harry hadn’t even noticed Louis' fast approaching figure from the other side of the pitch. His arms had raised above his head, fingers wiggling about in threat of tickles. The curls on Harry’s head stopped bouncing as he ran as far from the offending fingers as he could. Luck was not on his side, though. They had been there for Lou, afterall. The _Very Fast Football Player._ It didn’t take long for Louis to catch him, limbs flailing and laughter ringing in both of their ears. Gods, Louis loved to hear Harry laugh. It was one of his favorite sounds. The laughter stopped soon after the thought entered his mind, though. Confused blue meeting panicked green as Harry failed to pull air into his lungs. Louis was soon faced with the image of the same scared, small boy from the first grade, but this time he couldn’t fix it.

He didn’t know how.

***

They both woke up in the hospital, not sure how they got there.

Louis woke up much later than Harry had. He recognized a pair of thick, cloth straps restraining him to the itchy hospital bed when he tried to get up. Scared, hot tears streaked across his face before he even knew he was crying.

“Loubear? Are you awake?” His mom stepped out from behind the curtain, pushing it back so he could see the rest of the room. As the excess tears still sprinting down his face, Louis could see Harry.  He was sitting up in a bed that matched Louis' own, wearing a green paper gown and munching on ice chips.

“Boo, do you know why we’re here?” It was Anne speaking this time. He shook his head, eyes flitting over to find the mop of curly hair housed atop his best friend’s head. A happier, safer version of Hazza had replaced the scared little boy on the football pitch. He was sitting in a green paper gown on a bed that matched Louis' own, munching on ice chips. Louis felt a wave of comfort wash over him, finally able to calm his mind as Anne spoke.

“-asthma attack. You about ripped a poor paramedic's throat out, you were so panicked, so they had to sedate and admit you as well. You’re both getting discharged within the hour though." She smiled at him, eyes crinkling like Harry’s do when he laughs. "No need to keep you here longer than necessary."

He was going to be okay.

***

Since Harry's asthma attack, Louis found comfort in carrying an extra inhaler. Knowing the orange plastic he shoved in his pocket each morning could help Harry when he needed it was the most comforting feeling in the world.

He had carried Harry’s extra inhaler on his person from the second Anne had given it to him, no matter where they went. It wasn't uncommon for Harry to catch Louis checking his pockets during family dinner or at the cinema. A small look of worry molded across his features until his hand grazed the smooth plastic. This day was different though.

They had been arguing about whether to take Daisy and Phoebe to the park for the day. As usual, Harry won the second he batted his long eyelashes. Slipping his hand in his pocket, Louis searched for the small boot as he grabbed his keys. There was only one problem:

The boot wasn’t there.

It was such a small thing. Harry hadn’t thought much of it until he had turned to see Louis' usually tan skin turning a bloodless white. He turned to the stairwell, asking the girls for a few more minutes to talk to their brother.

It took almost an hour for Harry to get Louis to stop pacing around the house yelling about the inhaler. How irresponsible it was that he lost it when Anne had given it to _him_ for safekeeping. How stupid he was for not remembering where he put it.

The more Harry tried to combat Louis’ comments and fears, the smaller and more fragile the boy looked. By the time Louis had calmed, both boys were crying. Shirt fabrics soggy with each other's tears as they held close and whispered soft apologies. Phoebe tiptoed her way into the living room moments later - unfurling her fingers to reveal a small piece of orange plastic Louis had left on his bed that morning.

Louis cried harder.

***

Louis invited Harry into a therapy session for the first time a few months after The Incident. His mother had insisted he start seeing one after she heard about what happened, and Louis couldn't find it in himself to disagree with her. Harry, of course, jumped on the idea of taking his best friend to therapy every Friday.

"If you're going to have panic attacks over _my_ inhaler, I can at least learn how to help you cope with them."

Louis couldn't find a reason to argue with that logic, and soon enough, Harry had been driving him to therapy for three months.

“Haz? My therapist wants to meet you.” Louis’ voice cracked with exhaustion. Spending an hour and a half every week digging to the root of his biggest anxieties always tired him out.

Harry's head snapped up fast enough he went dizzy. He had been sitting in the waiting room, playing Tetris on his phone and listening to music, when Louis came out.  He yanked his headphones from his ears almost immediately.

"What's going on? Everything okay Lou?" Worry splashed through his vocal chords. It wasn't normal for the older boy to show his face before five o'clock, and Harry wasn't sure how to react.

Louis nodded before responding. "Yeah babes, everything's fine. She just wants to meet the lad who drags me here every week, is all." His giggle filled the space in such a way that Harry swore it was the only source of light in the room.

Harry mumbled a simple "Okay" before shuffling forward, following Louis down the hallway and into the small room. There was a woman perched in a soft blue armchair that sat in the corner. Her light brown hair was turning gray at the roots, framing her aged face without a single strand out of place. When Harry entered the space completely, she stood up and extended a frail hand.

"Hello! My name is Andrea. You must be Harry?" Her presence alone was able to melt any tension felt in Harry's body, but her calm and steady voice made him feel confident in his sudden comfort. He grasped her hand, nodding in confirmation at her assumption.

"Excellent! Would you boys sit down please? Louis has agreed to allow you into his session today, so we need to go over some things first." She glided back down into the armchair and crossed her legs, placing her hands over one another on top of her knees. Louis crashed into the plush leather of the couch across from her as if he owned the place, Harry leaning next to him.

The rest of the session filled Harry's mind with strategies to help ground Louis back to reality. Grounding, as Andrea had called it, was something Louis needed to calm his anxieties.

"Louis has asked me to look into the possibility of utilizing another person during his grounding exercises, Harry. Would you be comfortable being that person?" Andrea posed the question halfway through the session. Describing what it would entail, she smiled at Harry's eager agreement.

The boys left the cramped space feeling stronger than they could ever remember. Harry's mind was swimming through the loads of information they had managed to cover.

He wasn't going to feel so helpless anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was suuuuuch a difficult chapter to get in tune with. I have a lot of problems writing about medical stuff without losing the original finesse of the story, so I hope I managed to not do that with this chapter!
> 
> Don't forget to post comments and leave kudos!!! I live on that stuff!!!
> 
> Love you guys :)  
> -Jordan


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! One more chapter updated, about a million to go!
> 
> I hope everyone has had a WONDERFUL Spring Break/mental health week/whatever other type of week you really needed.
> 
> I'll be up hopefully with another chapter tomorrow! It's a cleaning day and I have literally nothing else going on, so it would make sense to dedicate my time to editing my child.
> 
> Happy Reading!

It had taken less than six months for Harry to respond to Louis' body language on instinct. They hadn't realized how strong their friendship was until Andrea mentioned it. They had been dependent on each other's moods for so long that it was second nature to notice a faltering mood.

After Harry had helped Louis through a handful of 'fits' - as Louis called them - Andrea had informed them of a change in schedule. Louis was more than capable of grounding himself, with Harry as a strong fallback as needed. She had every confidence that Louis could manage coming back once a month rather than twice.

To celebrate the news, Louis had bought the new FIFA that Wednesday. Dragging Harry upstairs after family dinner, they set to work on their customary after-dinner blanket fort in front of the TV.

"Harold, I thought I told you last time that we don't need the support chair! We're _master_ fort builders, not amateurs!" Louis whined as a pair of large hands wrapped around a tall chair. Harry's grass green eyes glared back at ocean blues before responding.

" _Lewis_ , I told you to stop calling me that ages ago. And the last time you told me we didn't need the support chair, the fort collapsed halfway through Gogglebox!" He placed the chair in the middle of a sea of pillows with more force than intended.

The chair stayed.

***

They were five matches into FIFA when Harry started speaking.

“Babes, I can’t hear if you’re mumbling,” Louis stated. He was so immersed in achieving the winning goal that he couldn't understand his best friend. When he realized his character was the only one moving around the virtual pitch, the game paused.

Shifting positions, Louis' fingers found themselves carding through chocolate brown curls almost immediately. Harry's head had found it's way to Louis' lap, eyes closed as nimble fingers massaged his scalp. He could almost feel his discomfort melting from his bones as Louis' fingers worked.

“What was your first kiss like? You know.. With El?” Harry looked up at his best friend, curiosity painting across his features.

Louis hadn’t given Eleanor much of a thought since he dumped her in second year. It hadn't taken long for him to realize he wasn't very attached to her. So, about three months into the relationship, he'd gone to find her and tell her the truth. And find her, he did.

With Tommy Sanchez: The co-captain of the lacrosse team and a third year.

He shrugged. “I mean, it wasn’t anything special.” They’d kissed at a party during a drunken game of spin-the-bottle. He'd been expecting to at least feel _something_ while kissing someone as fit as Eleanor, but there wasn't even a hint of a spark.

Wiggling his eyebrows, Louis pushed a little more. “Why? Is there someone you’ve set your sights on, Haz?”

Louis hadn’t meant anything more than to tease the poor boy, but Harry looked as though someone asked him to kick a cat. He shot up from Louis lap so fast he went dizzy, jaw went slack in disbelief and he spluttered out a minute long string of “No!”. His usual pale peach features had gone the color of sundried tomatoes and he refused to look Louis in the eye.

So, Harry had a crush, did he?

“You know you can tell me, love," Louis egged. "C’mon who is it? That Jessica girl from your first block? She’s fit,”

Harry buried his face between his knees and shook his head, leaning his back on the couch. Louis’ wished the younger boy would lay back down. His lap was getting cold.

“Have you…. Um… haveyoueverkissedaboy?”

The question whooshed out of his lungs so fast Louis almost didn’t catch it. His clear blue eyes narrowed as he tried to comprehend exactly what his best friend was asking. Kissed a boy? Not that he knew of. Had he thought about it once or twice? Yeah, but that was between Louis and his brain.

“Not that I can remember, H. What are you on about anyway? Do _you_ wanna kiss a boy?” It was a solid question. Especially when his best friend was sitting so close to him, asking about kissing boys.

Minutes passed and Harry hadn’t made a single noise, green eyes trained on the hands twisting in his lap. Louis wanted to say something. Crack a joke or something, _anything_ , to lessen the tension in the room.

Harry’s head nodded in such a small confirmation that Louis almost missed it. Although, Louis wasn't sure if it was even possible to miss Harry moving with his eyes glued to the younger boy.

That’s a plot twist Louis hadn’t been expecting.

Harry was always talking about girls with him. If he hadn't said something, Louis would have thought he'd grow up to become a proper lothario. They'd been talking about how fit Hermione was not even a week prior!

Louis blinked twice before speaking again.

"Well, who's the lucky lad?" He flung his arm around Harry's shoulders and knocked their heads together. If his best friend was gay, who was he to say different?

Harry paled at the question, hands twisting together in anxiety on his lap.

"No one!" He squeaked, green eyes going wide at the assumption.

Louis squeezed him close to his side. "Boys can be ignorant, young Harold. If you want to kiss them, it's my job as your best friend to make sure you're kissing the right ones. Got that?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Louis realized how close their faces were. He could feel the warmth of Harry's breath as they shared the silence. A thought passed through his head, telling him it may be a good idea to widen the distance between them by a few inches. But Louis couldn't find the strength to move away from Harry when he looked like that.

A pink stain had danced it's way across the younger boy's cheeks; lips parted enough for the air to escape his lungs. His wide eyes were the color of forests, looking into Louis' as if searching for answers to an indecisive question. He looked kissable.

And... what?

Harry had always been Louis' best friend. And, sure, he had thought about kissing boys before. But never _Harry._ Harry has always been  like the little brother he never had. Right?

***

They had decided to stay within the safety of the blanket fort that night. When Anne came upstairs to gather her son, she found them cuddled in the middle of a sea of pillows. The boys had been too immersed in conversation to notice the intrusion. Anne left Harry's backpack with Jay that night, knowing her son had a hoard of extra clothes squirreled away at the Tomlinson house.

Harry was beginning to drift in and out of sleep, curled into Louis' side under a heap of blankets. Louis had found it adorable the first time Harry had done it - rolling opposite of the older boy and shoving his back to Louis' front. Even now, though he surpassed Louis in size several months before now, he still found it adorable.

"Hey Haz?" Louis' voice was low and gravelly from disuse. Harry  grunted in response, not quite awake enough to form sentences.

“Do you want me to kiss you? Ya’ know. Get the first one out of the way, make sure you’re sure, all that?”

Harry's eyes snapped open at the question, unsure if Louis understood what he was asking. He twisted his body to face his best friend, only to find that Louis wasn't holding eye contact very well. His blue eyes were shifting in and out of concentration, blush creeping up his face. Harry's own face felt as if it had been lit on fire.

The negative reasons toward kissing his best friend seemed to dwindle the more Harry thought about it. He trusted Louis more than he trusted his own family sometimes. They shared everything with each other, so why not this as well? Louis wanted nothing more for Harry than to see the boy safe and happy. It seemed like a no-brainer to share the most vulnerable aspects of himself with someone like Louis.

The minutes between Louis’ offer and Harry’s small response of “Yeah, okay,” seemed more like years. Blue eyes searched Harry’s face for any possibility of uneasiness before asking one more time if Harry was sure. When he saw curly hair bouncing in confirmation, Louis finally leaned in.

_Holy shit._

The second Louis’ mouth brushed his own, Harry saw stars. His eyes had slid shut, completely surrendering to the moment. Louis’ lips were soft against his own and his breath tasted of cinnamon flavored gum and a more subtle hint of green apples.

Harry remembered thinking that he could drown in that taste and die happy.

Fate seemed to have other plans. The kiss ended as soon as it had begun, leaving both boys blushing and light headed. Their eyes met in silent conversation as they tried to figure out what the _hell_ had happened. Harry missed the warmth of Louis’ mouth the moment it was gone, wanting nothing more than to lean in and taste once more.

The silence in the small space was much too loud until Louis finally spoke up.

“So, uh….. Was that okay?” His voice cracked through the question. blush finally managing to fade from his cheeks as they went downstairs. Harry still didn’t trust himself to speak, responding instead with a curt nod before rifling through the Tomlinson’s fridge.

***

They didn’t speak about The Kiss again; both favoring the quiet option of being best friends that had so happened to kiss once. Life went on, Louis concentrating on passing his A-Levels and Harry trying to focus on anything but Louis.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

Harry was eighteen when he officially moved in with his best friend. Technically, they were sharing a dorm room, but it was still _LouisandHarry’s_ dorm room.

Harry still planned on making it into the best year of his life, and boy, did he.

 ***

When Harry got his acceptance letter, Louis had already been going to university for two years, forcing the Residence Office to oblige by the incoming junior’s request to have one baby faced, curly haired freshman living in the upperclassman suites instead of the freshman dorm. Harry had never been more pleased with the age gap between them when he found out, jumping up and down and kissing the top of Louis’ head in excitement. The floor plan had shown an open living area equipped full kitchen, complete sets of furniture, and bathroom.

Community laundry facilities were the only downside from Louis’ perspective. He’d gone home from break one too many times his freshman year with the beginnings of a deep bruise blooming on his cheek after getting into a fist fight over the washer. He’d made a point from then on to do his laundry at Stan’s apartment off-campus after that.

Moving in wasn’t horrible. Their room was on the third floor, and since they had a pre-furnished room, the boys’ biggest worry was lugging their fifty-two inch flatscreen up the stairs without breaking anything… including themselves. Louis had imagined his best friend’s death one too many times that day, starting when Harry bounced his stupid curly head away from the particularly heavy couch they had been moving, leaving a certain blue eyed junior to do all of the heavy lifting. Not to mention the fifty _million_ questions Harry had managed to ask when they started to unpack. It wasn’t until halfway through those questions that Louis started mouthing off instead of answering. He loved Harry, but _Jesus_ the kid needed to figure some stuff out on his own.

“Louis, do you know where this should go? I can’t decide.” _How about up your pretty little arse, Harold?_

“Lou, why don’t we put the shelf in the corner over there?” _Because it’s tall and obnoxious, Curly. Not too much different from the freshman I’m about to kill._

“Do you know where my knife set went? You know I get picky about where my kitchen utensils go, Lou!” _What don’t you get picky about, Haz? It’s your natural state!_ That one ended in a particularly vicious tickle fight, leaving Louis wheezing and holding his sides in an attempt to stop giggling.

At some point, Louis' snarky comments began to get mean. He made a point to try not to get mad at Harry often, but his questions just started getting more and more specific as time went on. He'd finally had enough when Harry asked his opinion on where they should put the fairy lights Harry had brought from home.

"Honestly Harry do you need my opinion on every fucking thing you do?!" When he first opened his mouth, he hadn't meant for it to come of as harshly as it did. Now that he was expressing just how annoyed he was though, there was no stopping the cruel words spewing from his mouth. Harry looked just as surprised as Louis was at the words, eyes going wide and mouth clamping shut.

"You're fucking eighteen, Harold. Grow up and take some initiative once in a while, will you? You won't survive college if you keep this shit up!"

Harry had tears welling in his eyes as he listened to each word, fairy lights dropping from his grasp when he heard his best friend's tone of voice. Louis couldn't look at him anymore, remembering every small thing Harry had ever done to annoy Louis throughout the past eleven years and getting more annoyed by the second. He needed to leave before he said something he really regretted. Eyes shifting from side to side, he grabbed a box labeled  _Bathroom! :)_ in Harry's handwriting, spat out a small "I'm unpacking this, so just leave me alone," and slammed the bathroom door shut. He hadn't even realized he was crying until he felt hot tears dripping from his cheeks and onto his shirt.

He never fought with Harry. _Never_.

***

“Boo, what the _fuck_ are you doing?” His head snapped up to see one Jay Tomlinson leaning on the frame of the bathroom door, watching her son hide in the bathroom while pretending to sort through toiletries. He had no idea how long he'd been staring into the same box trying to unpack, his mind kept going back to that afternoon. He'd been so unreasonably cruel to Harry, but the boy had annoyed him with all of the questions. Louis' brain was struggling to stay angry at the memory of teary, green eyes staring back at his angry blue ones, but dammit he could try.

“I can’t handle Harry. He’s asked me so many questions about where things go in the past two hours that my head is spinning, Mom. I can’t do it. I’m going to kill him if you make me go out there,” Louis couldn’t stop rambling if he tried. His mom knew Harry almost as well as Louis himself did, but she hadn’t seen her son this on edge since she’d given birth to Felicité when he was ten.

“You can’t hide in here forever love. He seemed calm enough when I came in, why not try talking to him or something?” She came towards him, arms open for a hug, before twisting her face and stepping back, “Maybe put some of that shower gel to good use first though? You reek,” Louis rolled his eyes and shooed his mother out of the bathroom, grabbing all the shower supplies from out of the box and throwing them onto the shower rack before finding a change of clothes and slipping into the shower.

***

Jay was right, Louis didn’t kill his best friend. Stepping out of the shower, he’d checked his phone to see twenty unread texts.

_**_Harold_ :** I'm sorry :-(_

_**_Harold_ :** Did u leave? _

_**_Harold_ :** Ok I hear the shwr u didnt leave _

_**_Harold_ :** done yet? _

_**_Harold_ :** Lou _

_**_Harold_ :** Loooooooou _

_**_Harold_ :** LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU >:( _

_**_Harold_ :** Stoy showering and love me _

**_Harold_ ** _**:** Stop*** _

**_Harold_ ** _**:** Pls _

The messages kept going. All to the needy tune of Harry thinking Louis was ignoring him. He wasn't worried until he got to the last one:

_Harold: Gonna unpack some more. Love u._

Louis closed his phone again with a sigh and pushed his way through piles of cardboard to reach their room where, in the twenty minutes Louis had been occupied by the shower, Jay and Harry had managed to shove the two twin beds together in the corner of the room and throw Harry’s more-comfortable-than-should-be-allowed mattress pad and the rest of their bed stuff on top. Harry was sitting in the middle of the floor, legs sprawled out and box sitting between them. He was sniffling and, if Louis looked hard enough, Harry's normally forest green eyes were a dull gray and rimmed with red. Harry had been crying.

He hated to see his Harry cry, so that had to change pronto.

“Alright Haz? Anything I can help with?” He shuffled around a few empty boxes to reach their dresser and grab pants and a shirt, eyes not leaving Harry’s back until absolutely necessary. The last time he’d seen Harry cry, it was after he and Gemma had a huge fight and he had convinced himself she didn’t love him anymore. Louis had cuddled up to him on the couch and didn’t move until the curls on the sides of Harry’s face were sticky with tears and he boy’s breathing had slowed to the edge of sleep, so that’s what he intended to do about this time too.

He approached Harry from behind, sitting down a few feet from the taller boy and scooting towards him until they were flush against each other, back to chest. Harry always liked being the little spoon when they slept, so Louis didn’t see an issue with cuddling him into the same position on the floor. 

“I thought you were mad at me….” Harry choked out. It felt like he had swallowed a tennis ball and it got stuck in his throat, “I thought you left or something,” Louis pushed his forehead into Harry’s back, shaking his head. A small “Never leave you, Haz” fumbling past his lips.

Louis had tried that once during his senior year of high school. Harry had been so upset that Louis had chosen to go to a school so far away, saying some really nasty things to him one night and Louis walked out the door with the swift intention of never coming back.

He’d lasted a week of sleepless nights before showing up on Harry's front porch, crying about missing his best friend and promising to come home when he could.

***

They had stayed like that for God knows how long before Louis got a text from Zayn asking if he wanted to hang out. They’d met during freshman orientation and had become instant friends. Louis had plans on introducing Harry to Zayn and Stan at some point this week, but Harry was currently sleeping with his head in Lou’s lap and neither boy had any intention of moving for the night. He replied with a simple ‘ _Not tonight man. Tmrw?’_ and closed his phone. Harry didn’t get insecure often, but Louis knew from experience that when he did, he wasn’t up for much social interaction. It was best to have a night in and rest up for the upcoming week.

It was little Hazza’s first week of college and Louis had planned to party like it was the end of the world.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

The first time Harry met Liam, they ran into each other…. Literally.

It was about a week into classes and Harry was late to his pastries lab. As someone who was majoring in pastry arts, he was kicking himself for not waking up on time for the _one_ class he would actually be able to make pastries in. Louis was already gone by the time he threw his hair into a bun and ran out the door, longboarding through the dorm hallways and through the main entrance.

He hadn’t even noticed the massive wall he was about to run into until he was already on the ground wondering how he got there. Except, the wall was a body. And the body had barely even moved after Harry ran into it.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” The human wall rushed to the rescue. Harry noted the older boy had been texting someone, headphones shoved in his ears and completely not paying attention to the giraffe heading right for him at full speed.

“Have there always been pink dots in the sky?” Harry managed to mumble after looking up, trying to place the voice. Before he could though, he found himself being lifted up from the ground by two very strong arms.

“Sorry mate. I was texting my boyf-” Wide eyes the color of chocolate met Harry’s green as if searching for the right words. “-my friend. I was texting my friend to make sure his ass got to class on time.” The boy looked less panicked as he shoved his phone in his back pocket and stuck out an arm to steady a slightly dizzy Harry, “I’m Liam, by the way. Do you remember your name or do you need to go to the health center?”

“No, I think I’m okay. I should really get to class actually,”

Harry felt a hand on his arm as soon as he started to walk away. When he turned to look, Liam was reaching for a pen and paper in his backpack.

“I figured I should probably give my number to the kid my back managed to concuss. Here,” He scribbled a number on the paper and handed it to Harry before adding a quick “Text me if you need to go to the health center,” and running off.

Harry didn’t think much of the encounter for the rest of the day. He had his pastry class to get to, after all; and all thoughts of Liam were out of his mind just as quickly as their encounter had taken place.

***

Being a freshman, Harry shouldn’t have been able to take as many major-focused courses as he ended up scheduled for. At five classes total, three of them were cooking and baking labs he wasn’t supposed to have access to until his sophomore year. Luckily though, after hearing about his experiences working at the local bakery in high school, his advisor had been able to pull some strings and get him a headstart on his more advanced cooking courses. By October, it was hard to find the boy without flour or something sticky tangled in his luscious locks. His green eyes turned grey with exhaustion, dark purple circles found sanctuary under his lower lids, and his usually abnormally golden skin had taken a sickly pale yellow tone from not eating as much. It was evident to anyone who saw him that Harry’s first semester was taking it’s toll on him. As much as he enjoyed his courses, he hadn’t expected such a heavy workload right at the start of his college career. There just seemed to be no time for anything outside of his courses. He missed hanging out with Louis at the end of the day and having time to check in with his mom or Gemma.

Seeing how the first semester was affecting him, Louis wouldn’t have expected anything less than coming back to the dorm to see his best friend knocked out on the couch, flour clotting his hair and something that looked a lot like pink icing smeared across his cheek, cuddling his pastry textbook. As a junior, Louis had taken on less of a course load in favor of getting the rest of his more challenging classes out of the way. Studying had never been his forte as a student, but Liam - a fast friend he met through the Intro to Education course every freshman education major is required to take - had managed to force him, kicking and screaming, into the library after their last class every Tuesday and Thursday. With Harry having reserved the baking room to practice his midterm recipes every other day, Louis felt like the two of them hadn’t properly hung out since the beginning of the term. He was starting truly miss his best friend. Seeing Harry so exhausted lately, the junior was having trouble keeping his wish for the bright spark to come back in the younger boy’s eye.

After what seemed like the longest week of his life, Louis missed his best friend so much it hurt. He’d come home to find Harry, once again, asleep on the couch, passed out from the long day. He walked over to the couch quietly and knelt down on the floor, brushing his thumb across Harry’s cheek to gather whatever substance from his baking labs had gathered there earlier in the day.

“Haz. Hazza babe, can you wake up for me?” He hated to see the curly boy jerk awake, but he was going to wake up in the morning with a sore back and a bad attitude if he didn’t get to an actual bed soon.

“W’time is it?”

“Close to midnight, love. Lima finally let me out of prison so I thought I’d spend some time with my favorite freshman in a bed that’s not going to kill his back, yeah?”

Harry simply flipped him off and crawled off the couch, recipe book long forgotten between the cushions as he made his way down the hall. Following the mass of curls, Louis shuffled his way towards their room.

Harry was already a lump under the blanket when Louis finished his nightly routine. Stripping off his shirt, Louis quietly slipped under the blankets and snaked an arm around his best friend. He never really understood being the big spoon, but after a failed attempt at being little spoon back in high school, he’d made a point to never let Harry be big spoon again.

“Hazza? Babe are you awake?” Louis rested his forehead on top of soft curls. He’d noticed about a month into school that the giant had stopped cutting his hair, so it was tickling the top of Harry’s shoulders by now. He’d caught himself looking at the longer locks more often than normal lately, especially now that the lanky boy Louis had known in high school was filling out rather than getting taller.

Harry mumbled out a curt “Yeah, Lou,” before rolling over to face a pair of curious blue eyes.

“Have you been doing okay? Like… in your courses?” Louis asked, hoping his voice was able to mask the worry he felt.

“I mean... Striker is an ass, but I’m getting by. Are you?”

Louis snorted. Dr. Striker was the freshman English professor. Everyone in the school had a course with him at least once during their college careers and he’s managed to fail at least half of them every semester. He’d always been good at the subject, being a Theater Ed. major and all, so Louis hadn’t had much of an issue. Harry wasn’t kidding though, the man _was_ an ass.

“All good, H. Nervous for midterms?”

Harry shook his head and looked down at the sheet. “No, I don’t think so. My pastries professor is pretty nice and an amazing chef, so I’m really excited to show her what I’ve learned,” He stopped talking and started to fiddle with the frayed corner of his pillowcase, biting his lip. Louis poked his nose in silent conversation, _Come back to me_ it said. Harry snapped back into conversation soon after, “My math exam is going to be hell, but I have a whole extra week after labs to study for that. The material is okay, and I always have Liam to help if I need anything,”

After their little collision, Liam had texted Harry later that evening just to make sure he was still okay and that there were no delayed effects of his fall. They’d been texting quite a bit as of late, especially after Harry had found out the older boy was a math major. Ever since Harry had told Louis about his new found friend, something slithered in the pit of Louis’ stomach every time the small ping of Harry’s phone went off. For the time being, however, Louis pushed any strange feelings he had towards his best friend’s relationship with this mystery boy aside. He was growing tired of seeing the boy in front of him without a smile on his face, and decided tonight was the night he would change that.

“What about me! I thought _I_ was your study buddy!” Squeals filled the room as Louis’ small fingers found their way into Harry’s sides, “Eh?! What happened to the little high school sophomore _pleading_ ‘Louis! Louis! Pleeeeeeeaaaaase tutor me! You’re a prodigy in the making! An absolute _genius_!’”

Halfway through his accusation, Louis ended up on top of Harry, pinning the taller boy’s sasquatch legs under his hips as his fingers dug into as many tickle spots as they could find, a fairly easy triumph seeing as he memorized all of them over the years. Harry was practically screaming in laughter by then, squirming violently and trying to block Louis’ attack with his arms.

“Fine! You win! You can study with me then, you git! Ju-Just get off!” Harry wheezed out, finally able to push the smaller boy off of him. They laid together on their backs, completely out of breath, for what seemed like hours before Louis spoke again.

“Lima and I were going to the library to start work on this project for our Educational Psychology course if you wanted to come with. He’s a math major, so we can all work on your math together if you’d like. After all, as my best friend, you should know I’m absolute shit at anything involving numbers and, therefore, Harold, no good at helping one such as yourself study for such trivial things. Such a disgrace,”

“Excuse you, Lewis. You’re the one that got all insulted that I asked an actual _math_ major for help with _math._ Besides, I thought you’d like the fact that I’m making friends _,”_

“My Lima, young Harold, is a math _education_ major, which makes him inherently better than your run-of-the-mill math geek. Gosh, don’t you know anything?”

Harry hit him in the face with a pillow before turning on his side and throwing out a “Cuddle me and go to bed, asshole,” and closing his eyes.

***

When Louis had invited Harry to come study with him, neither boy had quite expected to end the night sleeping in different rooms.

When they first arrived, everything had gone pretty smoothly. After an awkward reintroduction, it turned out that Louis’ _Lima_ ended up being Harry’s _Liam_. And, after giggling over the minor confusion on account of Louis always calling Liam almost anything other than his real name, they decided to get down to work. Liam and Louis sat on either side of the table, spreading the contents of their backpacks out and heading straight to work while Harry stuffed himself into the corner of a nearby couch. Math had never been his greatest subject, so he and Louis had decided that when one of the boys needed a break from their other assignments, they would work together on whatever Harry needed help with. It was a good system, with one exception.

Harry had already finished his two lab midterms, meaning he had a very small amount of things to be working on.

Plugging in his laptop, the freshman sat back and tried to get some of his less important readings and assignments done. It wouldn’t keep him busy for more than an hour, but he hoped the other two would be coming to a stopping point by the time he finished, so he tried not to think too hard about it. There was always social media if he got too bored.

Apparently, Louis had other plans. Harry must have missed something Liam said because as soon as he looked down to start the first chapter of his reading, he heard Louis’ undeniable cackle.

Harry shouldn’t have looked up.

Louis’ head was thrown back in a perfect curve, hand on his stomach as he laughed. His teeth were showing in a full smile, eyes closed and laugh lines deep; shirt riding up just enough that Harry could see the smallest trace of golden, tanned skin of Louis’ midriff. Suddenly, Harry’s mouth felt like a cotton field.

Yeah, he _definitely_ shouldn’t have looked up.

He couldn’t explain it, even to himself. He felt something unfamiliar snake into the pit of his stomach at the sight of Liam and Louis laughing together. Louis just looked so comfortable around the other boy.

Harry chewed his bottom lip, regretting having even come along to study in the first place. Suddenly, he became very aware of his aloneness and their togetherness. It was clear Liam and Louis were having a good time without him, and he was starting to feel almost like a third wheel. Actually, he felt completely and undeniably invisible, separated from the two friends by stacks of paper and a level of knowledge the freshman just hadn’t quite reached yet compared to the two juniors in front of him. He tried to pass the time as best he could, distracting himself from the sickening feeling in his stomach with anything he could find. He knew he shouldn’t be bothered by it. Hell, he and Louis were their own people and were allowed to have other friends. Logically, Harry knew that, but something about the situation made him uneasy. He wanted to go over to their table and join them, interject himself into their conversation, do _something_ to feel like less of a bystander to his best friend’s relationship with this total stranger. He had already set up his base, though. And besides, it looked as if they were having a good enough time without him, so who was he to interrupt?

Several more breakouts of laughter and whispering had occurred by the time another math break had been called for, and Harry couldn’t even bring himself to look at Liam. _I’m the only one that Louis’ ever laughed like that with._ He thought. It wasn’t fair, having to watch as Louis… _flirted_ with Harry’s new found friend, as if they’d known each other for years.

A few moments after calling for the break, Louis and Liam made his way over to where Harry was spread out, the former moving Harry’s long legs that covered the couch and plopping himself down onto the cushion closest to the youngest boy.

“Alright there, sunshine? Ready for some math?” Liam asked as he approached the couch.

“It’s Harry. And yeah, I guess,” Harry grumbled out, closing his laptop and folding his arms across his chest. Louis gave him a puzzled look, but chose to stay quiet.

They spent a half hour on Harry’s math work before deciding to take a bathroom break before resuming their work.

“I think I’m just going to head home, actually. You’ve answered all of my questions and I finished my other course work, so I’ll see you at home, Lou,” Harry chimed in on their way to the restrooms. If he had to sit in the library with the two of them any longer; hearing them laugh and flirt as if they’d known each other their entire lives, he might have gone insane. It was too uncomfortable. All he wanted was to go home and curl up in bed for the night. Suddenly, two sets of eyes turned to give him equally confused looks.

“What are you on about, Haz? You have at least three more pages of math work you can do. Now that Li has shown you how to do it, why not work on that?” Louis began to close the distance between them as he spoke, confusion completely consuming his features as Harry pulled away coldly. He could tell Louis was bothered by his actions, but he really couldn’t concern himself enough to care. He wanted his friend to know how uncomfortable he was feeling.

“I’m just going to do them at home. Can’t concentrate in this hole,”

“Babe, you love the library. We come here literally every week! What’s changed tonight?” The smaller boy tried reaching out to Harry a second time, but Harry pulled away as though any physical contact would burn him. He needed to get away from the two boys in front of him before he exploded.

All the anger he felt finally bubbled up to the top. He didn’t even know why he was angry to begin with, or with whom. He adored both of the flabbergasted boys in front of him, and he knew he was being ridiculous. But, before he could stop the words for coming out, he heard himself yelling:

“You! You did, Lou! When we come here, _he_ isn’t here to make you laugh so hard you distract the whole floor! _He_ isn’t here to act all loved up with you while I’m sitting not ten feet away trying to study! _He’s_ what changed!” He was pretty sure the wet feeling on his face was coming from the tears he’d unknowingly started to spill. Louis looked so hurt at his words, but as far as Harry was concerned, it was all true. If he’d known this was how Liam and Louis’ study sessions went, he never would have agreed to come in the first place.

What was more frustrating even, was that he didn’t understand _why_ he was so upset in the first place. It’s not like this was the first time he’d seen his best friend flirt with someone. Hell, Louis even dated a few people in high school! So what made Liam any different than those people?

Harry was so confused, but he was causing a scene in the middle of the library. He needed to leave before he got out of control.Turning on his heels, he spat “I’ll see you at home,” in the direction of a still up-ended Louis and marched out towards the bus stop.

Once home, Harry slammed the door shut behind him. He leaned against the closed door, trying to regain his breath as hot tears tore across his cheeks. He had no idea what had just happened, or why he’d gotten so upset. Louis was everything to him. He _never_ snapped at him like that, not ever. This was the boy who knew Harry best in the world; who knew every secret, story, crush, pet peeve, and, apparently, every way to get on his last nerve. Louis knew just what buttons to push to get Harry’s green eyes to see red, but he’d never gotten this upset with his best friend before. He couldn’t even remember a time when he’d so much as raised his voice in Louis’ general direction. And, judging by the look on Louis’ face tonight in the library, he’d realized that as well.

Harry felt sick.

He made his way over to change into his pajamas. He wanted to just go to bed and forget that tonight had even happened.

***

Louis didn’t come in until much later that night, walking through the threshold and wanting nothing more than to knock on their bedroom door, to check on Harry and figure out what was going on. If he’d done something wrong, he wanted to know what and how he could go about fixing it. The younger boy had made it clear earlier that night he wasn’t very fond of seeing Louis right now, so he decided on setting his sights on dressing the couch with sheets and grabbing a blanket out of the closet. If Harry needed for Louis to stay away for the time being, he would stay away.

Louis headed over to the couch and put his head in his hands. They had had little spats before, but never quite like this. He didn’t know what to do with himself. It felt as though every ounce of energy had been drained from his body. He laid down on the couch, and his eyes closed almost immediately as his head hit the pillow.

It was the first time in almost a year the two had slept in separate beds, and neither got much sleep.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

A week into what Harry had dubbed ‘Loumaggedon’, he met Niall Horan.

Harry had English Literature with Niall, but hadn’t remembered befriending the boy until they were already walking to class together and sitting next to each other. Harry had noticed almost immediately that the blonde could talk for ages without getting sick of his own voice, and fully took advantage of that fact. Each day, he would present Niall with a new topic, sit back, and listen to what he had to say. Being naturally more quiet and reserved, Harry found friendship with his classmate refreshing. Niall never expected him to chime in and was perfectly happy filling the air with jokes and laughter if they couldn’t think of anything to talk about on their treks to class.

With Louis sleeping on the couch and avoiding Harry at all costs, the apartment had become quiet. Harry came home more often than not to an empty suite, Louis nowhere to be found. He’d stopped bombarding the boy’s phone after the third day, deciding that Louis would have left a note if he’d wanted Harry to know where he was.

Mornings were the worst. He would wake up expecting Louis to be right next to him, snoring up a storm, and find the other side of the bed just as neat and unslept in as it had been the night before. Getting through his morning routine and dragging himself into the kitchen to make breakfast, Louis was usually either on his way out the door or already gone. Harry couldn’t remember a time when Louis had been this genuinely upset over something he had done. In high school, they fought like brothers - always at each other’s throats and even breaking into the occasional fist fight - but had _never_ stopped talking.

There was a time back in junior high when Louis had liked this girl named Sarah. Harry had been so upset when he found out about the crush, stomping around his room, calling his friend any nasty name a twelve year old could muster, even pouting all through Family Dinner. Louis, however, had flicked a piece of pasta at Harry’s head to get his attention and stuck a carrot up his nose, getting the curly boy to laugh and all previous grievances forgotten. Louis had gotten in trouble later that night, but it was worth it just to see his best friend smile.

That was Louis, though. He was always much better at helping others forgive and forget than Harry. This was almost completely uncharted territory for the introverted freshman. He knew he wanted to make things right, apologize and try to get Louis to understand. He just… wasn’t sure how. While the older boy might still have a childish streak, they were beyond the age that sticking vegetables up his nose would be the immediate remedy to all Louis’ frustrations; but still, the memory struck a chord with Harry. When Harry was upset, Louis had always done something to make him smile and laugh.

Now, it was Harry’s turn to make Louis smile.

***

He proposed a brainstorming session to Niall the eighth day in, after waking up that morning to find one Louis Tomlinson, still too upset over Harry’s outburst the week before to speak, sneaking out of their room with one of Harry’s shirts. He had figured Louis hadn’t stopped stealing his clothes due to their spat when, earlier that week, he’d spent a half hour trying to find a shirt that Louis inevitably walked through the threshold wearing, but the _nerve._

“So that’s it then? You steal my clothes while I’m sleeping so you don’t have to ask?” His voice betrayed him as he spoke to Louis’ back, gravelly with sleep and cracking out of annoyance. There was an ache permanently residing in Harry’s stomach, twisting his insides into even more of a knot as he watched his best friend shuffle to the living room without response. He needed a way to get Louis talking to him again. Needed to see those blue eyes sparkle and his small hand move to grab at his shaking stomach when he laughed, or to talk about football, or class, or the latest books they’ve been reading.

He _needed_ to apologize for being a jealous git, is what Harry needed.

***

Harry found himself naturally running to the boy he’d have no trouble at all getting a solution from. Maybe Niall, the People Person, would be able to tell him how to get Louis talking again.

“I dunno, H. Seems like you’ve gone and fucked up that one. I don’t even know the kid, but from what you’ve told me about him, Louis holds a mean grudge.” Niall was right. Harry had seen his best friend angry and vengeful more times than he could count, just…. Never at _him._ He clapped his friend on the shoulder and brought them closer together as they walked.

“Niall... You all-knowing socialite, you. _Please_ tell me you know how to convince someone to forgive you.”

The blonde just shook his head. “I mean.. When Babs is mad at me we fuck until we aren’t mad anymore, so not really. Sorry man.”

Harry blinked at him.

“Have you ever thought that the reason you two fight so much is because that’s how you handle the fallout?”

“That, my curly friend, is a damn good question.”

***

They’d gotten halfway through English Lit. when a crumpled half sheet of lined paper found its home on Harry’s desk.

 _Really, Niall? Are we in high school?_ He thought, opening the note to read the scrawled letters.

_THERE’S A PARTY SAT_

_L MOST LIKELY GOING._

_B THERE OR B FRIENDLESS 4EVR_

He felt Niall’s eyes on him before he saw them. It was a bit ominous, he thought, to have this boy sitting next to him and staring at him like he was the key to ending world hunger. Harry turned away to scribble a response, throwing it back on Niall’s desk and resuming the lesson. He knew it wouldn’t satisfy the scowl on Niall’s face, but it would at least ease him until the end of class.

_I’ll Think About It_


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

It took another two days before Louis cracked.

The junior had been sitting on the couch playing FIFA when Harry got back from his pastry course. His lab partner had started the mixer without any wet ingredients in the bowl, causing flour to paint half the students in the classroom white. Walking through the threshold of the dorm room, he could still feel flour trapped under his curls.He’d tried to get most of it off in the bathroom after class, but after realizing the small sinks and low-grade soap provided by the university weren’t going to cut it, he had every intention of coming home covered in flour. Lucky for him, his class let out at the same time the landscaping crew began their daily projects around the culinary building and he had been able to make a deal with the man wielding the hose.

“Is there a reason you’re all wet?” Louis’ voice strained against the words as if it hurt to speak. Harry whipped around, clothes flicking water onto the wall as he looked at his best friend for the first time in what felt like years.

Louis looked as though he was about to collapse. There were bags under his eyes, and the usual bright blue had been replaced with a dingy, lifeless gray. His hair was a mess, and he looked as though he had a proper night’s sleep - or shower - in weeks. Harry’s heart plummeted at the sight. It was because of him that Louis looked like that. It was all because of him.

“Have you eaten at all lately?” Harry ignored his friend’s original question, but Louis didn’t seem to notice, shaking his head in response. He seemed far away and if there was one thing Harry knew about the blue eyed boy, it was that his heart literally resided in his stomach. And if there was one thing that would snap him back to the present, it would be Harry’s latest assignment.

After changing out of his damp clothes and somehow managing to get rest of the wet, pasty goo out of his hair, he immediately got to work. Harry knew food better than he knew himself sometimes, and if food was what would bring his best friend back to their room, he would make enough of it to feed armies.

***

By the time  dinner was ready, Louis was sitting on the only clean bit of counter space, laughing with Harry.

“She just dumped the entire flour bag right in! No warning or anything!” Harry spluttered, pouring the last bit of shrimp over their risotto. It turns out, Louis had remembered his original question; spurring a full length explanation of Sasquatch’s Flour Adventure as well as the rest of Harry’s day. Laughter filled the room when Harry explained that he had to pay the landscaping guys to hose him down after class to get all the flour off.

Harry had forgotten how much he loved Louis’ laugh.

They’d spent the rest of dinner eating Harry’s assignment and talking about what they’d missed in each other’s lives. Harry still had a lot of apologizing to do before Louis would forgive him, but Harry took it as a good sign that they’d been in each other’s presence for a little over two hours without anyone having left the room.

As far as grudge holders went, Louis was the king. Harry couldn’t remember a time when Louis had forgiven someone quickly. Yet, here he was, sitting across from Harry with a smile on his face and a shrimp tail sticking out of his mouth.

They still had a long ways to go, but Harry knew they were going to be okay.

***

They slept in the same bed again that night, Louis pressed against Harry’s back as drool slipped out of the corner of his mouth and onto the freshman’s shirt. He’d fallen asleep almost immediately after hitting the mattress, waiting at least until Harry had taken a shower and emerged in his bed clothes, smelling less like soggy bread.

“I missed you, Hazza.” Louis nuzzled his forehead into Harry’s back the second he’d slipped under the covers with the smaller boy. If he concentrated hard enough, Harry could have sworn he felt a small brush of Louis’ lips against the nape of his neck, but the sensation was gone as fast as it had come.


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!
> 
> ***TRIGGER WARNING***
> 
> I get pretty detailed with Louis' panic attack in this chapter. If you have an anxiety/panic disorder yourself and may get triggered, its at the very end of the chapter and you'll know before it starts to get descriptive I promise. I have an anxiety disorder myself and started to get a little wonky towards the end of the chapter.

Louis couldn’t remember falling asleep the night before, but being back in his own bed for the first time in what seemed like years made him realize exactly how tired he really was. It was the first good night’s sleep he had had in far too long, and when the alarm finally sounded, it came all too early.

He’d woken up to his phone alarm blaring in his ear and body so knotted up in blankets he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get untangled. He’d forgotten in the past few weeks what it felt like to sleep in his own bed, remembering as consciousness came back to him  _ why _ he hadn’t been lately.

Right. 

He was supposed to be mad at Harry.

The other boy had been such a prick that night in the library, Louis was surprised he hadn’t been angrier with him. He’d invited Harry along to hang out and get the help he had already planned on asking Liam for anyway, and instead, the asshole had decided to go storm off in the middle of the library. Which left a very confused Liam and Louis in his wake to apologize to other library-goers for the scene. Harry had  _ never _ gotten angry with him like that. The brain underneath all of those curly locks was supposedly too intelligent to be angry about something as harmless and non-trivial as Actual Man-Puppy, Liam Payne. Especially when he hadn’t done anything to merit a response like the one Harry had given him.

As he thought about it, Louis could feel his blood start to boil all over again. He wasn’t ready to forgive Harry just yet. He still had so many questions about that night, and Harry hadn’t really made an attempt to explain or apologize yet. Maybe, once the situation had been cleared up and apologies were said, Louis would be ready to forgive. Just... not yet. Besides, in Louis’ mind, Harry deserved a little bit of a cold shoulder for having just gone off on the older boys the way he had.

Walking into the bathroom and staring at his reflection, Louis took a second to  _ really _ look at himself. His hair was in disarray, skin taking on a more gray tint than his usual golden brown; even his normally ocean blue eyes had taken on a more dulled and dim appearance, equipped with under-eye bags he could probably go grocery shopping with.

Looking a bit higher on his face, a small piece of crumpled, pink sticky note was housed on his forehead. Taking it off his face to read it as he turned on the water for a quick shower, Louis immediately recognized the letters as his best friend’s scrawl:

_ Couldn’t fall back asleep so went for a walk. Should be back soon -H _

It had been scribbled so quickly across the paper Louis had a hard time reading it at first. The ink hadn’t fully dried on the signature, so he couldn’t have been out longer than a few minutes which was good. The last time Louis had woken up to a note like this, he ended up getting a phone call from a particularly scared high school junior telling him he’d gotten lost on his way back to Louis’ dorm room during family weekend. It hadn’t been the last time Harry visited Louis on campus throughout his first two years of college, but it had definitely been one of the most memorable. He couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his cheeks while thinking of the memory.

***

Taking one last look in the mirror, Louis decided that enough was enough. He was going to take a proper shower, style his hair, and actually make himself presentable that day. He’d been brooding for far too long. A hot shower would do him some good.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have other plans though.

The hot water heater in their building was always finicky, but today, it decided to just stop working altogether. As someone who enjoys showers so hot the water might as well be boiling, Louis almost shrieked when met with a spray that easily challenged temperatures found in the Arctic.

Okay, no shower then.

Shutting off the water and shrugging into clean clothes, he shot a quick text to Zayn as he finished up his morning routine and jogged out the door.

**_LouLou:_ ** _ You here yet? _

He found a spot on the curb to sit at while he waited for a response. Louis and Zayn had managed to have at least one class together every semester since freshman year. Now that they were juniors, Zayn had decided to lease one of the upperclassman apartments rather than stay in the dorms like Louis. 

**Zaynie!:** _ Yea btch pullin up now _

True to his word, a black Lexus blasting Drake through open windows pulled up just as Louis looked up from his phone.

“Have you seen my friend?” A voice shouted out the window from the driver’s seat, “He’s about three feet tall, permanent scowl, walks around like there’s a stick up his ass?” Zayn paused, taking in the damp, shivering boy in front of him before speaking once more.

“Apparently decided that the beginning of September was a good time to go outside without drying his hair properly?” Louis shoved himself into the passenger seat, pushing his throwing his backpack carelessly into the back seat while the younger boy giggled.

“You’re such a fuck sometimes, you know that?” Louis accused, watching as his classmate jumped the car into gear and sped out of the lot. Zayn’s giggles morphed into full on laughter in response.

***

Louis had met Zayn Malik his first semester of sophomore year. The pair had found fast friendship after Louis had caught Zayn smoking behind the art building right next to a ‘No Smoking’ sign. Instead of turning the rebel in, Louis had asked to join him. Louis had learned fairly quickly that Zayn and Liam had already been introduced through an art class they shared.

Louis later found out from Liam, after persuading him with a  _ lot  _ of alcohol, that they didn’t exactly ‘share’ the class. Liam was a nude model for Zayn’s Intro to Drawing course, claiming he needed the money.

This year, it was Louis who shared an art class with this ever mysterious, beautiful boy. Up until recently, their friendship consisted almost entirely of texting and smoking together. After he and Harry had started fighting more, though, Louis had found himself ranting to the quiet kid in his art course as if his life depended on it.

“I just don’t understand what I did, Z! He was perfectly fine one minute, then boom!” Louis let out an exasperated sigh. He knew logically that Zayn had probably heard all about The Fight from Liam - seeing as they were roommates this year - but he couldn’t seem to help it as the words flew out of his mouth after class. Zayn took a drag of his cigarette, slowly inhaling the nicotine and allowing it to seep into his muscles before responding.

“From what it sounds like, I need to meet him, Boobear. You’ve done all you can for him right now, so maybe he just needs a fresh opinion.” Zayn placed a gentle hand on Louis’ shoulder as he spoke, rubbing small circles into the muscle before tracing his nimble fingers down the smaller boy’s back. Zayn had this way of assuring people of things they may not even realize they were worried about. With each touch of Zayn’s fingers against his skin, Louis felt all of the pent up energy over his predicament disappear into the afternoon air.

“How about you and I go back to my apartment? My dealer swung by a couple nights ago so I could restock on my supply and I got some new shit I’ve wanted to try. Might help you loosen up a bit.”

Louis couldn’t find it in him to say no.

***

Louis didn’t start getting concerned about not having seen a certain pair of green eyes all day until he came home from Zayn’s later that night.

It wasn’t uncommon for Harry to leave in the morning and not come back until late at night, but between the note that morning and the lack of responses to Louis’ texts throughout the day, he was starting to get concerned. Since Zayn hadn’t formally met Harry yet and the younger boy hadn’t exactly been eager to bring any new friends around to the dorm lately. The only thing Louis could think to do was to text Liam.

**Louis:** _Have u seen H?_

Thankfully, The Great Lima Bean was a fast responder. Opening the message, Louis was faced with a picture.

It was Harry.

Specifically, it was Harry with his head thrown back in laughter. His eyes were crinkled at the corners in a way only Harry’s eyes do, mouth wide open and teeth fully on display in the biggest smile Louis had seen on the boy since a few days into college when he laughed so hard milk came out of his nose.

Usually, Louis was the only one that could get Harry to laugh like that.

He told himself that it wasn’t a big deal, that Harry was allowed to make friends and laugh and enjoy himself. But there was something about that picture, combined with Harry’s attitude towards him lately, that made Louis’ blood bubble through his veins. He couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him that his best friend was pulling away. After last night, Louis had thought they were going to be okay, but, looking back down at the laughing boy on his screen, the only word that came to mind was ‘replacement’.

Harry was replacing him.

He’d been subtly pulling away ever since the library and was now laughing and joking around, perfectly happy with Liam. Louis wouldn’t have been surprised if he hadn’t even run across the other boy’s mind. 

Harry didn’t need Louis around anymore and this was how he had chosen to tell him.

A surge of what Louis could only describe as panic flooded through him, turning his blood to ice with each passing second. The pit of his stomach felt as though he had just swallowed a truck and his heart was beating at light speed. Of course he was having a panic attack  _ now _ , of all times.

He hit the call button before he could even think.

“Everything okay?” Harry didn’t even need an introduction before diving into the conversation. Louis only ever called if he absolutely needed something, and Harry knew that. They both preferred texting, so phone calls had been reserved almost exclusively for emergency situations by the pair.

“Red house.”

It was all he had to say.

Harry replied instantly with a curt, “I’ll be right there,” before hanging up the phone.

Thank god for their code.

His chest felt as if it were caving in on itself, ribcage constricting with each breath as he waited for his best friend to burst through the door. The corners of his vision were starting to go blurry, tears welling in his eyes as his heart beat faster and faster with each passing second. He went to move his arm to check for the small piece of faded orange plastic shoved in his pocket, now a comfort item he had clung to more than once to stave off a panic attack.

He was too late reaching for it though. His arms had already gone numb, rendering themselves useless as his panic grew even more.

Where was Harry?


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy reading!

For the first time in almost eight years, Harry hadn’t gotten there in time for Louis’ panic attack.

Sprinting through the threshold of the stairwell and taking each step two at a time, he arrived in front of their door panting and dripping with sweat--probably in need of his inhaler-- within minutes of leaving his study session with Liam. Wrenching open the door, the sight Harry was met with was one that only made him wish he’d gotten there sooner.

Louis was on the floor, shaking hands grasping at his stomach as if all of the contents were about to burst through his skin. His face was wet with tears and snot, bright blue eyes wild with panic; his chest dragging up and down in uneven breaths fast enough to quicken Harry’s own heartbeat.

Harry had seen Louis in this state only a handful of times, but each memory was more vivid than the last. The feelings of helplessness, the look of pure agony on his best friend’s usually relaxed face, the shivers and shaking; all at the forefront of Harry’s mind each and every day. And, as done in the past, green eyes focused on blue and Harry immediately went to work helping Louis come back.

His steps were deliberate, walking slowly towards the crumpled ball of a boy on their living room floor. Following each and every step Louis’ therapist had trained him to go through in situations like this. His breaths were even, steps quiet, and overall stature soft and open. It felt like hours before he managed his way over to the center of the room, kneeling down and speaking softly.

“Lou? Hey babe, can you speak? You don’t have to move, just wanna know your color.” His voice was crackling with fear and so quiet he wasn’t sure if the boy heard him. Louis had changed his position in the time it took Harry to get to where he was, laying on his side with his knees buried so harshly into his chest it bordered the line of pain and arms folded tightly around himself, forming almost a perfect ball. His face was scrunched, eyes screwed shut and lips bound together so hard they were turning white with pressure.

“Yellow,” Louis scratched out. His sniffling had slowed, tears falling at a slightly less rapid pace. They had implemented a color system Harry’s sophomore year of high school after a particularly bad episode. Louis hadn’t been with Harry at the time of the attack, and it took Harry almost a half hour to find him, sprawled on the floor of the high school gym whimpering and hyperventilating with a group of students frozen in fear around him. They’d scraped together a plan that, if Louis was about to have an attack, he would text or call Harry with his color and location. Ranging from red for ‘this is awful and you need to be here like yesterday’ to green for ‘no problems here’, it hadn’t failed them once in the time they’d managed to use it.

Yellow meant he was going to be okay.

***

Harry had sat there with Louis--still curled in a ball on the living room floor--for almost three hours before he’d finally whispered a soft “Green,” and let his best friend carry him to their room. Harry put him in bed, slipping off his shoes and weaving him tightly into the comforter. He knew that after such an intense episode, Louis would most likely sleep until his body was bursting with energy. Every part of him needed to recover from what Harry could only think of as Louis’ personal hell.

After making sure Louis was going to wake up comfortably, Harry slipped into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and glanced inside, racking his mind for what to cook for once Louis woke up. Harry decided on soup - something warm, soothing, familiar, and comforting would be good for the suddenly even smaller boy sleeping in the other room.

Louis always liked soup after a bad day, and when he learned that Anne had taught her son to make chicken noodle completely from scratch when they were in middle school, Harry wasn’t allowed to make anything else for months. He’d even come home from school once to a text from Jay Tomlinson asking if he’d throw a bowl together for a very sick and whiny high school freshman that decided it was a good idea to go for a dip in the school fountain…. In November.

Harry knew soup wouldn’t fix what Louis went through, just as it wouldn’t count as an apology for his absence when the boy needed him most. Still, it was something Harry could do for him right at that moment. If he couldn’t cure his friend of his attacks, he could at least be there to pick up the pieces.

***

After the soup was finished and stored in the fridge for the next day, Harry slipped back into the bedroom to get ready for bed. The clock read well after midnight, but the gears underneath all of his curls were reluctant to shut off. What had caused Louis so much anxiety he had an attack?

The longer Harry thought about it, the more frustrated he became with himself. Louis  _ always _ had a reason for his panic attacks, yet, for some reason, Harry couldn’t think of a reason for his best friend to have such an extreme episode.

Hopefully, he’d be able to ask Louis tomorrow. For now, though, he focused his green eyes on his phone screen. He hadn’t texted Liam an update on what was going on since he left in the middle of their study session.

**Sunshine:** _ Lou is ok. Sleeping now, should be good by tomorrow. Not sure what caused it though :/ Wasn’t making much sense by the time I got here _

Harry didn’t even have a chance to put his phone down before he got a text back. Liam had always been good at replying, but this was a new level. He must have been just as worried about Louis as Harry had been.

**LiLi:** _ Good to hear he’s ok. Should we come over tomorrow? He might need a day in… _

**Sunshine:** _ Might not be a bad idea tbh… Who’s we? _

Liam had never mentioned having many friends outside of Louis and Harry, but the younger boy had figured there were more. Liam was too much of a social butterfly to only have two friends.

 **LiLi:** _Oh right! My roommate Zayn and I were going to pick up Lou for the party tmrw. We can just come over a little early so you two can meet and we can all go together if you’d like!_

The sound of his heart jumping into his throat was enough to virtually knock Harry over. Of course. With everything that had been going on, he had completely forgotten about the party Niall had invited him to at the beginning of the week. He quickly shot Liam a reply before deciding it was time to go to sleep.

 **Sunshine:** _I wouldn’t have it any other way :)_


	10. 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

The first time Harry went to a party, it hadn’t gone as planned.

Louis had been rudely awoken to the faint strumming of a guitar. Glaring through his sleep crusted eyes, he grabbed for his glasses at the edge of the table before turning towards the noise.

“I’m not sure what question I want the answer to first, so why don’t you let me put on some pants and contemplate why I shouldn’t kick your sorry asses for breaking into my apartment.” Sitting at the edge of Louis’ bed, two pairs of golden brown eyes had met sleepy blue. Whatever questions Louis had for his two asshole friends would have to wait until he had a cup of tea in his hand and a clean shirt on. It was too early for wake up calls anyway.

Climbing out of bed without waking the sleeping boy next to him, however, proved more difficult than he’d originally thought. His knee got caught in the tangle of sheets, causing him to face plant almost immediately into the prickly carpet with a yelp. He scrambled onto his feet as quietly as possible, hearing the other side of the bed shuffling underneath the blankets.

“Lou?” Harry grumbled. His voice was groggy and clogged with sleep, causing it to seem about two octaves deeper than normal.

“Shit… Sorry babe. I tried not to wake you up.” 

“‘S okay. Wha’s goin’ on?” Harry cuddled deeper into the blankets as if battling between sleeping longer and waking up for the day. Louis always thought the boy looked cutest in this state, and waking Harry up for the day had become one of his favorite things to do over the years. Especially after realizing how cuddly he got.

“Nothin’ Hazza. Just Leemo and Zee being twats outside. You should go back to sleep though if you’re still tired.” Louis chuckled under his breath when Harry dramatically flopped an arm out to the side of the bed in response, beckoning Louis back to bed.

“Let them go. Come back…” Harry trailed off, eyebrows knitting together in thought before grumbling out a quiet, “We haven’t cuddled for a long time.”

Louis couldn’t find it in himself to say no after hearing such a soft request from his best friend. He was right, after all - they hadn’t cuddled in what seemed like years. With a curt nod in agreement, the smaller boy quickly found himself enveloped in the fuzzy warmth of their shared comforter. Harry had managed a content hum as he tucked his face in the crook of Louis’ neck, nuzzling softly. It wasn’t until he had the lanky boy back in his arms that Louis realized how much he’d missed cuddling with Harry.

They were given all of twenty minutes of peaceful silence, Louis’ nimble fingers tracing infinities along the younger boy’s shoulder blades, before the two were reminded of their guests. Bursting back through the bedroom door, Liam and Zayn had thrown the idea of a gentle wake up call out the window.

“It’s time to get up! Eat some breakfast! Watch some movies! ‘Enjoy the day as though it were your last’ or some other inspirational shit! We’re getting young Harold drunk tonight!” Liam plopped himself on the opposite side of the bed from the pile of limbs Harry and Louis had become.

“Why does everyone hate sleep.” Harry groaned, looping his arms around Louis and rolling both of them away from the offending humans. Louis chuckled and spat out a mouthful of curls that wiggled into his mouth with all of the movement.

“Hazza they’re probably right. Nialler’s parties are always insane, so it’s not a bad idea to celebrate your last day with a stable liver.” Louis giggled, digging his fingertips into Harry’s ribs in an attempt to get the younger boy to laugh himself out of bed. It seemed to work after a few jabs as Harry crawled away from Louis’ threatening fingers and right off the bed.

“Oi! Are you okay babe?” Louis and Liam both shouted. Zayn had simply rushed to help the boy to his feet, brushing chocolate curls from his face and checking for damage.

“Oh no! Harry fell a whole two feet off the bed! What a tragedy!” Harry’s face was still pink with embarrassment as he flung his arms in the air dramatically. The smile plastered on the boy’s face indicated to Louis that he hadn’t been hurt, so he decided to join in on the theatrics.

Springing off of a bed that was only a few feet from the floor hadn’t been Louis’ brightest decision, but he hadn’t fallen before slipping an arm around his best friend and throwing his head back in feigned agony.

“My poor Harold! What would we be without such curly locks haunting our every moment? You could have died!” Mischievous blue eyes met bubbly green ones in silent communication. 

Maybe if they played up the drama, their guests would leave them alone to get ready for the day.

***

All four boys had managed to make their way into the kitchen within an hour of Liam and Zayn’s first wake up call. Louis had slipped away after his and Harry’s performance to run a brush through his tangles and put on a clean shirt. After realizing he may have completely traumatized someone he’d never met with his antics, Harry had stayed behind and officially introduced himself to Zayn while rifling through Louis’ side of the closet for one of his favorite jumpers.

“You two are aware you have nothing in your fridge to make food with, right?” Liam announced once the other three emerged from the bedroom. Ignoring Liam’s stressed tone, Zayn and Louis plopped down on the makeshift pillow fort the two intruders had constructed after being kicked out of the bedroom earlier that morning. Harry, however, joined Liam in the kitchen to see what exactly the boy was talking about.

“Lou, when was the last time we went to the grocery? We have a half empty beer bottle in the door from when we first moved in and that’s it.” Harry trailed off in favor of picking up said beer bottle and pouring it out.

“Before we started fighting, probably. Haven’t really been home for the past couple weeks and anything you’ve made has been from leftover stuff you bring home from labs.” The extra food around the apartment had probably been Louis’ favorite part about the idea of living with a culinary major. Harry hadn’t been home for long enough periods of time to show him what they were making in his labs lately, and when he was, Louis had been at the library studying for midterms. Anne and Jay had taken the boys out to the grocery when they first moved in, though. They had to have  _ something _ .

“Are you sure we don’t have any- oh.” Louis cut himself off when he walked into the kitchen. Every cabinet had been ripped open by the two boys in front of him in an attempt to find something they could call breakfast. Instead of arguing further, Louis simply grabbed his shoes and asked who wanted to drive the foursome to the store.

“Unless someone has a pile of cash just dying to be spent sitting in their pocket, we aren’t looking past the breakfast aisle.” Harry protested as everyone grabbed a pair of shoes and made their way out the door.

***

Harry had forgotten what an experience grocery shopping with Louis Tomlinson was.

Since they were young, the older boy had always made the otherwise mundane excursion less of a chore. He’d sneak extra sweets or entirely random objects that had simply been in reach of him into their cart, laughing maniacally and scurrying off to play hide and seek with Harry when the items were finally discovered. While the activities and ages changed, Louis’ attitude towards grocery shopping hadn’t budged.

“Maybe this is why we haven’t been in a while. This is so boring, Harold. When can we leave?” Being the drama queen Louis was, he folded his back against the shopping cart once they had stopped to look at cereal, the tips of his honey colored hair brushing the few items the boys had managed to already pick up. He could hear Liam and Zayn groan at his complaint from an aisle away, having chosen to divide and conquer their small list.

“If you think it’s so boring, Boo, make it fun.” Zayn wanted to eat the words before he had even finished saying them. He could feel the evil look in Louis’ eye and the shiver that ran down Harry’s spine, knowing that an invitation to cause mischief had just left the his mouth.

“What have you done.” Liam groaned quietly, giving the boy next to him a pained look before turning back to the granola bars.

The reaction from Louis had been almost instantaneous. Harry felt the weight Louis had been placing on the cart leave and, suddenly, he was gone.

“Did either of you see him pass you? It’s been two seconds and I’ve already lost him.” Harry let out an exasperated sigh. He knew they weren’t going to be able to leave the store peacefully now that Zayn had opened the door for the oldest boy to wreak havoc.

Twenty minutes passed and the trio had managed to find everything on the list, but still hadn’t been able to find their fourth member.

“Ten bucks says he’s standing by the car, waiting to see how long it takes us to realize he’s not in here.” Liam sighs. When he’d first had Zayn pick the lock to the boys’ apartment that morning, he’d felt a bit bad for waking them up. Now, though, he thought Louis deserved every exhausted second.

Harry knew better than to agree with his friend, though. There was still a whole separate aisle the group had to look in, and all of his money was on Louis meeting them there.

It wasn’t the first time Harry had found Louis sifting through a variety of action figures and footballs in the toy section of a store. It was like the boy had a weakness for anything brightly colored or mildly spherical that could be kicked around. Knowing that, it didn’t take long to realize where Louis had been hiding.

“Lou. Please get out of there.” Harry giggled. He could see a tuft of honey brown peeking out from the array of different sized bouncy balls he was supposed to be hiding in. The store had a display of them in the middle of the toy section, making for the perfect hideout. Having followed the youngest boy while Liam stood in the checkout line, Zayn let out a loud cackle at the sight in front of him.

The ball display erupted around the hiding boy as Louis roared towards the other two. Harry put on his best disinterested face, knowing that it would be the easiest way to get Louis out of the store without incident, but Zayn had already engaged in the attack. Picking up an armful of the smaller, softer balls, the younger two defended themselves against Louis’ assault. His attack had been aimed mostly at Harry, tossing balls with noisemakers and bright colors at his head, almost daring the boy to retaliate. With a desperate squeal, Harry threw the last ball in his hand without even taking aim. Suddenly, the assault stopped. When Harry was finally able to look up, he saw a look plastered to Louis’ face that could only be described as a shit eating grin. 

Locating the ball Harry had thrown wasn’t as difficult as he thought, especially since the imprint of it was currently patterned across Liam’s annoyed face.

“I don’t want to know what’s going on. I just came to tell you we can leave when you’re done finding Lou, which it looks like you’ve done.” Harry couldn’t find it in himself to keep a straight face as the older boy walked away with their grocery bags. Louis had erupted in a fit of giggles the second he had registered what happened, and Zayn wasn’t much better, having to hold his sides as he rolled on the floor laughing over the annoyance on his roommate’s face.

***

Piling up against each other in the blanket fort, the next twelve hours had been spent on a scary movie marathon as per Zayn and Louis’ request. Harry had managed to sandwich himself between the two boys, having Zayn on his left so the two could get better acquainted with each other outside of what Liam and Louis had managed to tell them about each other; and Louis safe and secured on his right, ensuring a familiar chest to hide his face into in case of particularly scary scenes.

Being so close with Louis after everything they’d been going through lately felt more comfortable than it probably should have. Harry had stopped trying to be genuinely angry with his best friend back in primary school after a particularly bad fight that ended with bruised cheeks and tear filled eyes from both boys. Going through almost all of October without talking or being close to Louis was absolute agony, and Harry hadn’t realized exactly how much he’d missed having another body so close to him in such a familiar way. 

At some point during the marathon, the feeling Louis’ breath on the back of his neck and a small arm around his middle had been enough to lull the younger boy to sleep. When Louis had finally noticed Harry’s breathing had evened and his eyes had closed, he simply turned the volume down a few notches and pulled the sleeping boy tighter to his chest.


	11. 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one hasn't been updated yet. Be on the lookout in the next couple of days! If you'd still like to read the unrevised version, feel free. Some of the sections may seem repetitive/confusing though with all the updates in the first two chapters!
> 
> Happy Reading!

Harry had woken up to a cold blanket fort and the sound of frantic crashing coming from his bedroom.

“Why wouldn’t he mention it’s a  _ costume _ party, Zayn? Isn’t that an important detail to just forget?” Louis whined from the other room. Getting up from the living room, Harry stretched his sore back in a sorry attempt to workout the kinks permanently residing on his shoulders. He looked at the clock as he passed by, shuffling his way towards his and Louis’ room. The party Niall invited them to started in a few hours. Hopefully, that was enough time for all four boys to shower and throw something on.

When he walked into the bedroom, he was immediately met with a faceful of Louis’ shirts. The room itself was a contained mess: clothes piled up around the closet and dressers, Harry’s scarves thrown onto the bed next to every shoe either boy had ever owned. Louis had even dumped Harry’s lip tints and nail polish on top of one of their dressers. Harry’s brow furrowed as he tried to think of something to say. He opened his mouth to start scolding all three boys for being so blatantly careless with his more expensive items, knowing full well that Louis remembered being there when he’d purchased most of them. Louis, however, tossed another t-shirt behind his back and right into Harry’s face before he could get a single syllable out. Harry couldn’t help it when he felt the smile stretch across his lips, pulling the shirt from his shoulder as he watched Louis rummage in the closet. He was barefoot, crouched on the floor in front of his side of the closet, and desperately searching through their clothes. Any anger Harry had felt almost immediately melted away. 

“Do I want to know what sort of apocalypse happened in here while I was asleep?” Harry giggled out, dodging away from a pair of black skinnies that, at this point, could have been anyone’s. The only thing it seemed Louis hadn’t mixed together were their separate beanie collections, probably knowing the younger boy would have kicked his ass if he managed to lose any of the colorful knits Anne had made them for Christmas the previous year.

“Someone just informed me that admission to this particular party is a six pack and wearing a costume. Li ran home to grab our Batman and Robin stuff from last year, but it seems that Lou Lou can’t find any of his old costumes.” Zayn piped up, trying not to burst into laughter at his friend’s frantic searching. Louis’ blue eyes were bright with anxiety as he flew through pile after pile of fabric, trying to find something that could resemble a costume. Harry’s features softened.

“Could you give us a mo’? I should probably make a game plan with him.” Harry looked to Zayn. He could see a storm of anxiety brewing in Louis’ blue eyes. He needed to find out why his best friend had become so anxious over something so small. Zayn nodded in agreement, mumbling something about throwing on another movie before leaving the room.

As soon as Harry saw the door click to a close, he kneeled down to where Louis was evaluating a handful of their grungiest, oldest clothes. Harry’s heart jumped into his throat when he overheard the smaller boy say something about making bigger holes and going as a zombie.

“I hope you’re not planning on ripping up my favorite shirt, Louis Tomlinson. Because I’d have to kick you into next week if you were.” Startling the poor boy out of his thoughts, Harry snatched up the small Rolling Stones shirt from the floor and hugged it to his chest. His dad found it for him after he’d overheard his parents talking about possibly needing to move to a smaller house to keep up with the payments. It had been in his possession for so long it had more holes than fabric, rendering it virtually unwearable in public. It was still Harry’s favorite shirt and he’d be damned to let his anxiety riddled best friend destroy it for a party.

Louis yelped in surprise and spun around to meet a mouthful of chocolate curls. He hadn’t expected Harry to be so close behind him. Harry couldn’t help the giggle that passed his lips, but instantly sobered under a sharp glare from Louis.

“So, do I get to know why you turned into a room-sized hurricane?” Curious green eyes questioned antsy blues, causing the latter to blink in confusion before realizing he was talking about the disaster surrounding them.

Louis looked around the room for the first time since he started searching. Just like Harry had said, there wasn’t a single ounce of floor space that was free of items from their wardrobes. The pile on the bed was much larger than he had originally thought, not able to see the other side of the mattress anymore. 

He’d turned their room into a right mess, and a look of guilt passed over his face.

“You had no idea you did this much damage, did you?” Harry asked, figuring he wasn’t going to get anywhere with the original question. Louis just shook his head, not trusting his raspy mumbling to form a full sentence. If Harry’s features could soften anymore while looking at the ball of anxiety that made up his best friend, his face might have turned to mush. Harry had learned a long time ago not to question Louis’ anxieties too much. His therapist had told the younger boy that it was better for Louis to come to him with reasoning than to feel cornered into giving a reason he might not have before he was ready. It usually didn’t take Louis too long to tell him what was going on and Harry didn’t figure this time to be any different. 

Harry’s curls fell into his face as he leaned down to pick up two of the rattier, greasier shirts Louis had managed to pick out for his zombie idea. Louis hoarded clothes more than anyone Harry had managed to meet up to that point, so it didn’t surprise him when he recognized both shirts from Louis’ high school wardrobe. He’d probably stuffed them in the back of the dresser while Jay wasn’t looking during move-in so she wouldn’t try to throw them out.

“I like your zombie idea. What if we use these and I can wear my green headscarf and throw some makeup on us? We can get Zayn and Liam to help clean up while we get ready if you want? I’m sure we can bribe them with pizza and beer the next few weekends if they help.” Harry said. Louis mumbled a small “yeah” in response, nodding slowly as he got back on his feet.

***

By the time the four boys made it to the party, they were fashionably late. Liam had come back soon after Harry and Louis had decided on their costumes, decked out in his limited edition Batman Returns suit and a six pack of PBR under his arm. Zayn filled him in on the game plan and, for the next half an hour all four boys got down to their respectable tasks.

Harry hadn’t had a chance to think about the fact that he just passed through the door of his first college party, green paint smeared across his face and a ratty old shirt draped over his torso until he made his way to the living room. The party had just gotten to full swing by the time they all showed up, bodies swallowing them into the crowd as if they’d been there from the beginning. The curls on the back of Harry’s neck were already sticking to the skin there, eyes drooping in relaxation from the distinct smell of a joint coming from upstairs. The music was loud, and Harry would be lying if he said he didn’t feel slightly overwhelmed. He focused on trying to take everything all in, not even noticing the other three had disappeared until Louis slid his way back from the kitchen with two cups of some bubbly blue-green concoction in hand.

“Alright there Hazza? I got you a drink.” Louis pulled at a stray curl that had fallen in the younger boy’s face before leaning up to shout “We’re getting you proper drunk tonight, so drink up!” into Harry’s ear. Louis’ breath smelled like lime soda with an undertone of spiced alcohol, making Harry wonder what exactly was in the drink he was just handed. Harry took an inquisitive sip. The liquid was sharp, and burned on it’s way down. It almost reminded Harry of the rubbing alcohol his mother or Jay would use on him after he skinned his knees as a kid. He couldn’t help but wince at the feeling of molten lava making it’s way down his esophagus. 

“What do you think?” Louis asked, wide-eyed and expectant. 

“Um...not bad,” Harry managed to say. He decided it was better from then on just to down it in one gulp. Louis had mixed in way more alcohol than he’d originally assumed, making the warm feeling settling in his stomach spread much faster than he’d anticipated.

A few more sips, and Harry’s head felt light. It felt like every muscle in his body had been loosened and as if his head had been filled with helium. A few cups later, Harry found himself no longer feeling lost among the crowd. He found himself laughing and talking easily, enjoying the presence of the strangers surrounding him as he danced. It didn’t take long to realize that the alcohol-to-mixer ratio was starting to lean dangerously close to straight alcohol after his second and third cup, ensuring he would become considerably more drunk as the party raged on.

It was going to be a good night.

***

Harry was well on his way to drunk by the time he realized he hadn’t seen Louis in a while. His honey-haired best friend had been swallowed in the sea of people after Harry’s third drink and hadn’t been back. He glanced around to see if he could catch sight of him, but Louis was nowhere to be seen. Harry grimaced at the uncomfortable feeling flipping around in his stomach while he tried to think of where Louis might be. 

Stumbling his way towards the kitchen and pushing past quite a few couples that had grown tired of dancing and chose instead to make out on any available surface, it was suddenly clear why the drinks sloshing around in his system kept getting stronger. Leaning on the counter next to the stove, refilling all of the pitchers with various mixed drinks, was the peppy blonde boy from Harry’s English class. Neil? Noah? Harry’s thoughts were swimming too fast to catch the boy’s name from his memory.

“D’you live here or something?” Harry slurred. When had his tongue gotten so heavy in his mouth?

The blonde looked up, registering almost immediately who his interrogator was as he threw his hands up in happiness and swiveled his body to hug Harry tightly.

“Harvey! I’m glad you came!” The other boy shouted into Harry’s ear loud enough to cause minor damage, giggling like a madman as he pulled away to resume pouring an entire bottle of vodka into the pitcher in front of him.

“M’name’s Harry, but yeah. Who are you again?” Someone in the room hiccupped, making a giggle splutter from Harry’s mouth. “I’m drunk.” Harry hadn’t meant to say the last part. It bubbled out before he could do anything though. He grabbed another cup and poured one of the finished mixtures into it before gulping half of it in one go. Even drunk the stuff tasted vile. 

Before the other boy had a chance to answer, a distinct voice entered the room.

“Oi! Niall! Someone puked in the hallway, mate! Got it all over my shoes!” Louis yelled from across the kitchen, not bothering to pass the archway. Looking at his best friend with alcohol glazed eyes seemed to be more difficult than Harry thought. Louis’ eyes had drooped, matching Harry’s own drunken stare. His hair had become an utter mess, almost like someone had been pulling on it, his clothes were rumpled, and his lips were ever so slightly tinged blue from the flavoring Niall had been putting in the drinks.

_ When did Louis get so pretty? _

The thought hadn’t gotten permission from Harry to enter his head, but it seemed his mind had other plans. There was a small reddish purple stain streaked across Louis’ mouth, probably from the grenadine put in all the ice to make the drinks look bloody. Harry zoned in on it before he knew what he was looking at. Suddenly, the air in the kitchen was thinner and Harry’s stomach was tumbling in nervous cartwheels. 

He needed another drink.

***

The clock read just past one in the morning when Harry stumbled upon a pairing he hadn’t expected to fall into bed together. 

He’d been looking for the bathroom, having forgotten Zayn’s advice from earlier that night to not start peeing until he was ready to spend the rest of the night getting the alcohol out of his system. He’d stopped drinking Niall’s death cocktails soon after learning the boy’s name, choosing to nurse one of the beers Liam had brought with them instead.

In hindsight, pushing open the first door he found probably wasn’t the best strategy for finding the right room. He hadn’t expected to stumble through the threshold and see one very naked Liam on top of an equally naked Zayn. Harry’s eyes went wide in shock, seemingly stunned with the surprise of walking in on two of his friends fucking. He didn’t move until Zayn turned his head and noticed the freshman in the corner of the room, promptly yelling something along the lines of ‘get out before I cut your balls off’. It didn’t take Harry long to push his way into the correct doorway after that threat.

***

Getting three heavily intoxicated college boys rounded up to go home proved to be a much more difficult task than Liam thought. Zayn hadn’t left his side that night, but had fallen asleep in the nearest chair after a few cups of Niall’s Death Concoction. Harry was easy enough to find, being the life of the dancefloor for the better half of the past three hours and all. Liam found him giggling and grinding with a boy Liam had never seen before, drink sloshing around in one hand while the other carded its way through his tangled curls.

Louis, however, was a whole other beast. As one of Louis’ best college friends, he thought it would be much simpler to find and corral the small boy than it turned out to be. Louis had managed to get drunk enough in the time they had been at the party to decide stripping on the dining room table at the local frat house was his next profession. Liam found him in nothing more than his pants, bottle of Svedka in hand, swaying his hips to the beat of a song that was much too slow to be the one currently blasting over the sound system.

“Lima!” Louis squealed, hopping from the table about as gracefully as a drunk kitten. Much to Liam’s thankfulness, he’d managed to get any spilled alcohol on the hardwood rather than on himself. The last thing they needed was someone puking all over his brand new interior because Louis was a prat and got into a closed space smelling like cheap booze.

“Lou, where are your clothes? The rest of us want to go home, yeah? It’s late and you’re not going to stop bitching until next week about the hangover this’ll cause if you don’t stop while you’re ahead.” Liam craned his neck around the room, trying to find a trace of stray cloth that resembled Louis’ clothes. Louis’ face crinkled in response, obviously displeased with the idea of going home so early.

“Leeyum! I don’ wanna go yet! ‘S not late, come dance!” Louis’ grip on Liam’s sweater was deceivingly strong, forcing him to follow his friend to the dance floor.

He bumped into Louis’ still very naked back when they stopped too abruptly. Liam opened his mouth to tell him off and get him to keep moving, but saw what had Louis stopping in the first place clear as day.

Harry was still dancing, swinging his hips slowly along with the beat. The boy from earlier still very attached to his backside and not seeming to have any desire in moving.

It took all of five seconds for Louis to process the scene in front of him before he was moving towards the pair.

“Oi! Mind me askin’ what you’re doing with my boy?” 

Liam summed this entire fight up to how drunk Louis was before anyone had thrown the first punch, yet he still found himself stepping out to grab frozen peas from the kitchen for the loser’s face.

Louis, on the other hand, was still talking.

“You come up in here and dance with  _ my  _ boy and think I wouldn’t notice? That’s a rich one. Why don’t you take your stupid face and big hands and fuck off?” Louis had sobered up quickly after seeing his boy, his  _ Harry  _ dancing with some sleazeball. He was pretty sure his blood was boiling so hot the alcohol had burned right out of him, making it a surprise when he suddenly felt a sharp sting to his left cheek.

Harry had slapped him.

“How about you fuck off,  _ Louis _ ? Cory and I were having a perfectly good time without you.” Harry’s usually calm, bubbly voice had been replaced with ice cold bitterness.

“If he’s your boyfriend H, I don’t want to cross a line. I’ll just go, it’s fine. I’ll see you Monday, yeah?” The Defiler -  _ Cory  _ \- muttered as he backed away, leaving a seething Louis with a colossally pissed off Harry.

“I thought we were getting better, Lou. Whatever  _ that _ was,” Harry flailed his arm in a circular motion around their general area, “doesn’t happen if you’re not mad anymore! What the hell!” Harry’s green eyes seemed even more green when he was angry. Louis couldn’t help but think they were pretty, even without their signature warm tones and distracted stares into space. 

“Boys!” Niall was suddenly right at their side, clapping them both on the shoulder and guiding them gently toward the door, “Maybe you should finish this outside where you can cool off and attempt to feel remorse for all the happy buzzes you just murdered, yeah? I’ll see you tomorrow with pizza greasier than Harry’s hair.” With that, Louis was faced with a red nosed, pouty lipped best friend who had eyes that could probably kill with the daggers they shot towards Louis any time they caught his nervous gaze.

“If you have something you need to say, say it Louis.” Harry hadn’t used Louis’ name in such a bitter tone such a long time he couldn’t even remember if it had ever happened before. Louis knew he needed to say something. He had so many questions for Harry: who was that boy? Why were they dancing like they were so close? Why hadn’t he been dancing with Louis?

The last question hadn’t so much startled him as it had surprised him. When he’d envisioned Harry’s first college party, Louis had always been right there next to him through the whole thing; handing him drinks, introducing him to people Louis knew, and definitely dancing together. So, why was his stomach tying itself in knots over Harry finding a different dance partner?

He tried to think up something to say, but the words seemed to catch in his throat. All he could focus on was Harry. His green eyes boring holes into Louis so intensely it took Louis’ breath away, broad shoulders quivering under the weight of his heavy breaths. Louis had never seen Harry like this before, adding to the array of questions swimming around in his head so fast it made him dizzy. Nothing made sense anymore. Why was he so affected by Harry dancing with that boy? 

He didn’t have time to answer his own question before a pair of plush lips were brushing with his own. His eyes snapped open to make sure that yes, indeed, Harry Styles was kissing him. 

Holy shit.

Harry was  _ kissing  _ him.

Louis felt his eyes flutter closed before he had a chance to think about it, leaning in and angling his mouth to slot their lips together more easily. Harry tasted like strawberries and spiced rum, probably having gotten drunk off of one of Niall’s mixed drinks. Louis wanted nothing more than to lick into Harry’s mouth and find out if the taste continued onto his tongue.

A hand found its way into Louis’ hair and tugged gently, causing the smallest of noises to escape Louis’ throat. Louis’ own hands slipped their way up his best friend’s chest over his shirt, eventually making their way up to play with the baby curls resting at the nape of his neck, pulling them closer together. Who had Harry been kissing like this for the past seven years that he was this good at it?

An obnoxiously loud cough interrupted the two, causing them to open their eyes and jump back once they realized what they were doing and with whom they were doing it with. Louis watched as Harry’s tongue peeked out to swipe the spit from his bottom lip, matching blushed creeping up both boys’ necks. Harry raked a hand through his curls, pushing them back and engaging in a staring contest with the grass instead of risking a glance towards his best friend. Louis’ brain was still swimming with a thousand and one unanswered questions. All of which would probably never be solved.

“Well, that was something I never thought I’d see. Congrats to the happy couple, then!” 

Louis’ head snapped in the direction of the slurred voice, letting out a dramatic groan and rolling his eyes. Liam was standing back by the front door of the house, arms crossed and a smug look painted across his features. Zayn, still feeling the effects of Niall’s mixed drinks, began pulling blades of grass from the lawn and throwing them at his friends, imitating confetti.

“For real though, when’s the wedding?” Liam teased. Louis answered with a middle finger jabbed pointedly in his direction.

“Fuck off, Payno.” Louis called out. Zayn had managed his way over to Harry, where the two conversed in semi-hushed whispers. Harry refused to look his way, sending a pang of unpleasant emotions through Louis’ chest.

Louis tugged half heartedly at his fringe, trying to ignore his stomach tying itself into unsettled knots. Kissing Harry hadn’t crossed his mind since that time in his parent’s game room all those years ago, yet it had seemed so right. Louis couldn’t think of anyone who had kissed him the way Harry had. Most of his past hookups had been quick and dirty - a few harsh pecks here and there to quell the need for close contact - but Harry had kissed him like it was all he had ever wanted to do. He’d even initiated it! So why was he refusing to look so much as in Louis’ general direction?

Confusion swept across Louis’ face as Harry made a move to brush past him and Liam. Louis could have sworn he’d seen a hint of wetness trailing down Harry’s cheeks as he sped by, but it could have been his imagination. Zayn appeared soon after, stopping to shoot an apologetic look towards the two before speeding up to catch up with Harry.

Louis could only imagine what storm tomorrow would bring with it.


	12. Update

Hello!

Wow! I haven't updated this fic since OCTOBER!!!! That's so long to leave you all hanging and I apologize for that.

I wanted to post this update to inform you that I will, in fact, be finishing this fic as promised. Life got a bit in the way for the past few months, and now that I've reread the fic, I've decided to go through and rewrite some major aspects of it. SO, with that being said, I'm going to finish writing it before posting on AO3 again as to have a bit more consistent updates. I won't expect this to take more than a month or so with all of the time I currently have to work on it, and I'll keep you as updated as possible on how I plan to replace the chapters. If anything, I'll simply update the original chapters (those of you who have bookmarked/subscribed to the fic will get notifications when I do that) once a week until I'm caught up and then add on from there.

Thank you all for how patient you've been. Life gets tricky sometimes and everything you wish to do gets put on hold for a bit longer than you think it will, so hopefully I'll be updating this fic fairly quickly!

Thank you so much!

 

-Jordan


	13. Update

Hello everyone!

WOW. It's been such a long time and I'm so sorry for that! College, life, and a bunch of medical issues really caught up with me and I wasn't able to update this fic the way I wanted to. I feel like I've let a lot of you down by abandoning this fic, and I'm deeply sorry for that. But wait! There's better news coming your way if you read below!

I'll be reposting the new version of this fic (hopefully) very soon. I'm not going to take this version down simply because of how many comments I've received on it, but I promise you that this time I'm actually going to complete this fic when I say I will! I'm just as committed to this story as all of you that have messaged me about it are, and I'm so excited to restart and explore this plot once more.

I'll be posting the new fic within the next few months. So stay tuned for that!

All the love,

-Jordan


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